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Acid Rain

Abstract
Acid rain refers to all types of precipitation- rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog- that is acidic in nature. The recent rapid acidification of many lakes including Lake Atawapaskat can not be attributed to natural causes alone, but instead to the effects of acidic pollution from the burning fossil fuels by mankind. The acidity of this lake is predominantly determined by the soil and rock type of this area because 90% of the water entering this lake comes from ground water and streams. Only 10% of the water that enter this lake comes directly from rainfall. Lake Atawapaskat is more susceptible to freshwater acidification due to its acidic geology such as granite and peat-based soil. Recently acid rain has been entering more than usual through the catchment. Some of the acid rain has been neutralized due to its alkaline-rich soil, so the water entering the lake is of low acidity. (K.M.,Oghenejoboh; 2005) Acidification of the lake occurred with time. The first natural buffering capacity of the lake neutralizes the additional acidity entering the lake, but at some point, the lake buffering capacity ran out and the acidity of the water increased rapidly. The limestone and sediments little by little were being dissolved.

Lake Atawapaskat stabilized at certain acidity, maintaining a small number of species of plants and animals, but usually lacking many fish. The onset acidification of Lake Atawapaskat brought about a clearer bluer water body due to the settling out of decaying organic matter. X, (Zhang; W, He; J, Lu 2005) Most biological life thrives best within a narrow range of pH levels, near neutral or 7.0. Aquatic vegetation and animal life vary in their susceptibility to changes in pH; some species are more acid-tolerant than others. The diversity of different species drop considerably due to many different species of plants and animals depending on one another to survive. Plankton and invertebrates are most sensitive to changes in pH. If the pH levels...